A Death in the Coop

[capebird]

I have (did have) 5 barred rocks who are about 13 weeks old. I came out to the coop
this morning to find one of the hens dead on the coop floor with blood splattered about
on the roost and wall. I can only assume another hen pecked the dead one.
My coop is about 20 square feet so figuring 4 square feet per bird,
I don't think they were pressed for living space.

Pretty upsetting.

My question is ..... as the hens get older (and more powerful with what they can do with
their beaks).... do they tend to get more aggressive with one another....The one that was killed
was smaller than the others. Is there anything I should do, precautions I should be aware of
to prevent something like this happening again....
Well.... thanks for the help.

John

 

[Judy]

I'm so sorry.

I am wondering whether this could be ILT (infectious laryngotracheitis.) They will certainly peck a dead bird, but you wouldn't usually see splatter like that. Also, if they were pecking each other badly, you should have some warning before death -- spots bare of feathers, wounds on combs or hind ends, etc.

Read here and see if you see any other symptoms of ILT:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[capebird]

thanks for the reply.

There were no warning signs that I could see.... no bare spots or open wounds on this bird
prior to its death. I looked at the carcass and couldn't even find the open wound that
caused the blood. All the birds (including the one that died) were looking and acting
fine. I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[Keltara]

Oh John. That is just awful. I wish I had some words of wisdom for you but I don't. I hope this doesn't happen again with your girls.

Kelly
✿Country Chronicles Blog✿

 

[Nicole01]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[sourland]

Are you sure that this was not the work of a predator?

 

[capebird]

no predator..... all the other hens are fine. And, I'd say I'm confident
my coop is predator proof. No signs of entry and it's built like fort knox.

I buried the dead hen... but maybe I'll dig it up and look further for wounds
or get more of an idea how it died. When I first discovered it... I looked over the
hen but I was kinda freaked by it and upset.... so I buried it right away.